


The List

by rokusasuxiii



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Post KH 3, Post-Canon, SO FLUFFY, Sea salt trio and Isa family bonding, only slight angst in at the end, roxas enjoying life for the first time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 21:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18677401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rokusasuxiii/pseuds/rokusasuxiii
Summary: “You should make a mental list of some of the nice things in your life.” Kairi’s voice is hushed as she kicks at the water with the tips of her shoes. Roxas is at Destiny Islands, sitting with the princess by the docks.“A list?”“Yeah. It doesn’t have to be complicated things. It can be something like the smell of the ocean or the sound of the waves when they crash together. It’s what I do when I need a reminder that things aren’t as bad as they could be.” They’ve formed a strange friendship in the past few weeks. Riku goes to Twilight Town to pick him and his friends up every now and then to bring them all to the islands for a little get together. It’s been happening since the war ended, since the day Sora disappeared.-When things are hard you have to know how to cope.





	The List

**Author's Note:**

> For Jenny.
> 
> A note for readers who are not Jenny: I would read my other little one shot The Stand In In for a tiny bit more context on the Roxas and Kairi interactions. You don't have to, as this reads fine as it's own stand alone thing, but if you'd like to then I suggest you do.

“You should make a mental list of some of the nice things in your life.” Kairi’s voice is hushed as she kicks at the water with the tips of her shoes. Roxas is at Destiny Islands, sitting with the princess by the docks.

“A list?”

“Yeah. It doesn’t have to be complicated things. It can be something like the smell of the ocean or the sound of the waves when they crash together. It’s what I do when I need a reminder that things aren’t as bad as they could be.” They’ve formed a strange friendship in the past few weeks. Riku goes to Twilight Town to pick him and his friends up every now and then to bring them all to the islands for a little get together. It’s been happening since the war ended, since the day Sora disappeared.

Roxas figures they all needed to mend the gaping hole the hero had left behind, and spending time together just seemed to help. He knows it’s why he feels the need to join Kairi all the time and vice versa. There’s an innate feeling inside him that cares so much for her, it’s the part of him that still belongs to Sora. Roxas doesn’t mind it as much as he used to. He likes being around her. She doesn’t make him talk about difficult things, and he doesn’t prod her about her difficult days. They had a mutual understanding.

Even now she understood that he’d been having a difficult time. It’s why he broke away from the group and why she followed suit.

Roxas knows that she hasn’t been having an easy time either, but this is the first time they’ve actually spoken about it. But he won’t push her to say anything more than she’s willing to share.

His eyes are focused on the waves crashing against the pilings, the sound they make when colliding is almost soothing.

“I guess I can try making a list.”

-

**1\. Paper cuts**

He’s in the kitchen of his new home that he shares with Lea, Isa, and Xion. He’s rummaging around the cabinets for something sweet when he spots something in the corner of his eye. There’s a brightly colored flyer on the counter that read:

_Struggle! Sign-ups are closing by the end of the week so sign up today!_

Roxas makes his way over to inspect it when the paper cuts through his skin as he tries to grab it. The sharp pain on his finger tip makes him believe that someone had purposely left the flyer out and used it to poison him. Isa probably. Yes, he understands that the man had come a long way to make up for all his wrong doings, and that Lea wouldn’t let him live here if he were still a threat. But who else could have done this? A tiny scratch like this had never hurt him this bad before. He’s about to hunt the older man down when Roxas notices red liquid starting to ooze from the cut.

He doesn’t mean for his scream to be as high pitched as it came out. His body is leaking red liquid and it wasn’t normal and it could only mean someone wanted him dead.

The blonde’s piercing cry was enough to attract his red-headed best friend. Lea maneuvered his way past the stools and kitchen islands to his young friend. “Roxas what-“ but the key bearer doesn’t let him finish his sentence as he shoves his poisoned finger in Lea’s face.

“Isa poisoned or put a spell on that paper to do this to my finger! Why am I leaking red liquid!?” Lea stares at him for what feels like an eternity before throwing his head back with a cackle.

“Isa didn’t do anything, it’s just a paper cut silly.” The former assassin grabs Roxas by the hand and leads him to the sink. He turns the faucet on and lets the water pour over his cut. Roxas winces at the contact.

“A little blood won’t kill ya, it just means you’re alive.” Blood. It’s what humans have inside their body and what comes out when they get hurt. Roxas knew that but it’s never been something that he ever associated with himself. Back when he was still a Nobody and got hurt, there would be nothing but darkness coming out from the wound.

Lea had dragged him away from the sink and made him sit on a stool. When he left to grab the first aid kit, Roxas didn’t know. He had been far too mesmerized by his realization to notice his best friend leaving the room. Lea is carefully wrapping a band-aid around his finger. “It protects the cut from being infected.” And he starts going off on a tangent about the human body and how blood vessels work, but Roxas isn’t paying too much attention.

He has one sole thought going through his mind.

I’m alive.

-

**2\. Food**

No one told him that being human meant having to eat something other than ice cream. Well, Isa did after he’d gotten a stomach ache from eating ice cream three times in the day. Roxas can still hear his monotone voice chiding him.

“A human body needs more sustenance than just sugar.”

The blond will never voice the fact that Isa had been right. He’d had never felt so much pain before. Getting attacked by heartless, Nobodies, and the ex-Organization members had nothing on the ache his stomach felt that night. It felt as though someone was pushing about a thousand needles through his belly. Xion had tried helping him by putting a hot water bottle on his stomach.

“Olette taught me this. She said it helps the pain go away faster. I haven’t tried it myself yet but when _it_ happens, I will.” Roxas had been in too much pain to ask Xion what she meant by that. When what happens? Are these stomach aches going to be a norm?

Lea came to save him with some pink liquid. “It’s medicine, sort of like a potion! But this is just for your stomach.” The medicine smelled horrendous and it tasted even worse. Potions tasted better than that pink fluid. But a little less than an hour later his pain had decreased.

The next few days consisted of random assortments of vegetables being placed in front of him at different times throughout the day. A lot of them were green, others orange and red, and some were even yellow. The deal was that he wasn’t allowed to eat ice cream until he ate a plate of these weird smelling and looking things. At least he hadn’t been alone in this, because Lea and Isa were making Xion eat these things too. The only betrayal was that his friend actually liked everything they’ve been served so far.

They were both currently sitting at the table waiting for their dinner. Roxas was glaring down at his fork when Lea appeared in the doorway with a strange looking dish.

“Alright, vegetables aren’t for everyone, they’re an acquired taste. I made something that has none of them, but still healthier than dessert.” The red head served them both two scoops of this new meal. Lea called it shrimp scampi and it was an array of noodles and pink swirly looking things. There were little black and green specks on the noodles. When Roxas questioned them, his best friend had said they were spices.

He still didn’t trust it but at this point what choice did he have? Roxas begrudgingly took a fork full from his plate. Xion’s reaction was instantaneous, her face completely lit up the second the food was in her mouth. Lea was clearly ecstatic if his wide smile was anything to go by, but then his gaze fell on Roxas. His best friend’s eyes looked slightly panicked, even Isa had appeared in the doorway leading to the kitchen. There were two pairs of green eyes waiting for his reaction and that’s when it occurred to Roxas that these two people had been cooking specifically for him.

There was a warm and tingly feeling bubbling up inside. There’s never been people to care for him in this way. Sure, he has memories of parents from his virtual life in Twilight Town, but all of those memories were fake. Now, there’s Lea and Isa who worked on this meal to get him to eat something to keep his body healthy. They had been worried about him, and Roxas doesn’t know what to do with that.

“Do you like it?” It’s Xion who takes him out of his thoughts. Roxas looks at the three of them and the smile that forms on his face is genuine.

“I love it.” And he does, maybe not for the flavor specifically if he’s being honest. Roxas is still not used to so many flavors at once, he figures his relationship with food is going to be a work in progress. He hears Lea exhale, as if he’d been holding his breath this entire time. Isa simply gives him a nod and heads back into the kitchen, and that’s as much of an approval Roxas is going to get from him.

Roxas decides he loves food.

**3\. Stuff**

Roxas has never had stuff before. His room back in the virtual Twilight Town had all kinds of things but none of them had belonged to him, not really. They acted more like props on a set. But now he has a room in a home that both belong to him and it is completely barren. Xion’s room was in the process of being fully decorated with the help of Olette. The girls are getting ready for a trip to the shops. Roxas doesn’t understand the purpose of it but Xion looks so happy so he doesn’t say anything about it. He’s watching her excitedly talk to Olette about the things she’s seen while window shopping when Isa silently approaches him with a little pouch in hand. It’s reminiscent of the one Olette had made for him when they were planning the trip to the beach.

Roxas takes the pouch from his out stretched hand and peeks inside. “Munny…?”

“If you do not hurry I fear you may be left behind.” Isa says as monotone as ever and motions towards the girls standing by the front door.

“But I don’t need anything.” Roxas tries handing back the munny pouch but the older man simply stares back.

“Are you saying that you are content with the way your room looks now?”

Roxas gives a shrug and a wave of his hand. “I guess so? I have a bed so there’s nothing else I really need.” Isa doesn’t saying for a while, simply stares back at Roxas with an unreadable expression. Roxas wants to break the silence when the older man simply walks away from him without another word, leaving the munny pouch in Roxas’ hands.

-

The girls took three hours to come back home with bags filled to the top. They quickly make their way to Xion’s room without more than a glance his way. Curiosity gets the better of him as he makes his way upstairs, following the giggles leading to Xion’s room. He stands by the doorway and watches as they both rummage through the bags. There’s stuffed animals, books, clothes, some round fluffy things, and a whole mess of items Roxas doesn’t register.

“Isa said you didn’t want to go with them. Why not?” Lea’s voice makes him jump, not expecting his best friend to be standing behind him. Roxas looks over and Lea his watching him calculatedly, as if trying to figure out if the blond had lied to the other man or not.

Roxas gives a shake of his head. “No, that’s not what I said. I just didn’t need stuff like that so I didn’t go.”

Lea huffs and rolls his eyes. “You think Xion needs that weird, fuzzy, little pink thing on the bed?” He points to one of the fluffy round things she’s placed on her pillow. It has a cute face with big googly eyes and red rosy cheeks. It looks like a toy.

“Then why did she get it?”

“Because she likes it.” Lea states as if it’s the most obvious answer.

Roxas doesn’t fully comprehend but agrees anyway. “…Okay.” Something in his face and tone must give him away because his best friend sighs exasperatedly.

“Roxas, you’re allowed to get things just because you like them. You should have gone with them to get things for your room.”

But why? Bedrooms are supposed to be a place to put a bed so that one can sleep. Roxas already has one of those. Not even in the Organization were their rooms decorated with useless things. He tries telling Lea just that, “But in the Organiza-“except that his best friend cuts him off. His tone coming off harsh.

“In the Organization you were regarded as nothing more than a weapon! You were a tool for Xemnas to use. We all were.” Lea’s eyes were furrowed and intently focused on his own, a fire behind him. His nostrils are flaring and Roxas can tell that’s he’s upset him. The outburst was enough to attract the attention of the girls. Xion quietly makes her way towards them.

Lea’s eyes soften as he looks to them both. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to explode like that. But you guys listen, this is our home now and that means that you get to fill this place up with things you like even when there’s no practical use for them. When you like something that means it makes you happy, so you’re allowed to get. Got it memorized?” Lea addresses the question towards Roxas. He doesn’t know how else to respond other than nod.

“Oh! That reminds me, I got something for you too Roxas.” She pulls out two small little objects from her pockets, one in the shape of a boy a girl playing with seashells and the other in the shape of an ice cream stand. “They’re figurines! This one reminded me of the shells we collected for each other, remember?” Of course he remembers waking up to Xion’s little gifts after having his powers drained by Xion herself. Of course, they didn’t know she had been the cause of his fainting spells back then. Those shells were the first real gifts he’s ever received. His smile is genuine as he studies the items in his hands.

“Yeah. Thank you.”

When Roxas gets himself a desk, they’re the first things to go on it.

**4\. Family.**

“What are you guys planning to do for Father’s Day?” They’re in The Usual Spot, Olette sitting next to him on the couch.

“Oh man, is it time already?” Hayner moans from his spot by the entrance. Pence laughs and Olette joins soon after. They all start talking about their plans with their respective dads when Pence turns the conversation over to him.

“What are you and Xion going to do, Roxas?” The question catches him off guard, because his friends know that he has no real family.

“Um. We don’t have fathers.” A silence washes over them as three pairs of eyes fixate on him. Roxas feels like he’s said something wrong.

It’s Hayner who breaks the uncomfortable silence. “Well sure, but don’t Lea and Isa take care of you guys?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make them our dads. We’re not related.”

“Roxas!” Olette sounds exasperated and Roxas wants to apologize. He doesn’t know what he did wrong but getting them annoyed was the last thing he wanted. He opens his mouth to apologize but Olette doesn’t even give him the chance to get the “s” out. “Having parents simply means that you have two adults or one in my case, that care about you, love you and make you feel safe. Don’t they do all that for you guys? Blood related or not, it doesn’t matter. That’s not what makes a family.”

Roxas takes the time to think about that. He does feel safe with them, especially at night when his own demons don’t let him sleep. There a lot of times that the memory of Xion fading away in his arms likes to replay itself over and over as he sleeps. Some nights he’ll have nightmares where he loses all three of them and all by his own hands. These nights are the toughest but Lea, and Isa too in his own way, are great at getting him through them. They’d sit with him and Xion too when they’re both simultaneously having a rough night.

The few times that either of them had gotten sick, it’s Lea and Isa who take care of them. Isa is practical with medicinal herbs and Lea coddles them until they’re well. They both cook for him and Xion and make sure they’re eating the right about of nutrients for “growing kids” as Lea likes to say. These two adults care about them both so much and the feeling is mutual. Maybe his friends are right. They are a family and Lea and Isa deserve all the thanks for what they’re doing.

He’ll mention Father’s Day to Xion.

~~**5\. Kairi** ~~

It’s a week after Father’s Day and they’ve been invited back to the Destiny Islands. He’s sitting on the sand watching as Riku challenges Xion to spar. That’s not going to end well for the silver haired teen.

“Lea told me you celebrated father’s day, he’s really happy. Isa is too even if he won’t say it.” Kairi’s voice startles him as she sits herself down on his right. Roxas chuckles at her words. Of course Lea told the rest of them.

“Yeah. Olette made me realize that we’re a family even if we’re not related. They’re on the list.” He takes the piece of paper out of his pocket and hands it over to her. He can still see Lea’s face as he and Xion handed them both handmade cards that read, “Thank you for being our family.” His best friend will never admit it but those green eyes had almost spilled over. Isa ducked his face into his collar, and that in itself was a win. Roxas has figured out how to read that man by now.

Kairi giggles, her voice as soft and gentle as the sand underneath them. “Of course they are, silly. My family is the same and they’re on my list too.” Her focus returns to the paper in her hands, a smile playing on her lips. She glances over to him, her voice barely a whisper. “My name’s on here.”

Roxas feels his face get hot and nervously laughs as he lifts his arm to scratch the back of his head. “Well, you gave me the idea so it’s only fair.”

When he looks back towards her, Kairi’s face is melancholic. The princess doesn’t say anything, simply stares. There’s a sadness behind her eyes as she looks at him. It’s no longer Roxas she’s seeing. It’s become a double edged sword spending time together. He’s a constant reminder of who she lost, and her pain is constant reminder of who he _should be._

She hands him back the piece of paper, and stares down at the sand.

“Maybe I should write down my list too.”


End file.
